EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE COASTS OF EDREMIT GULF IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Abstract

In the last half century, while there have been many positive effects in the field of transportation and tourism with the acceleration of the rapidly developing industry, agriculture, service sectors in the global sense, it has been seen that serious environmental problems have arisen in the countries/regions where tourism has developed rapidly. In Turkey, especially on the seacoasts, the unplanned increase in tourism businesses, and the construction of tourism activities in a way that exceeds the carrying capacity have caused environmental problems. In this study, it has been attempted to determine how the environmental issues seen on the shores of Edremit Gulf are perceived by the members of the environmental organizations living in the region. In this context, the members of environmental organizations were asked what the environmental issues in the gulf area, the environmental policies developed for the environmental issues in the gulf, and the environmental protection measures in the gulf were, and the participants were asked to evaluate these protection measures. The coasts of Edremit Gulf, which show a great touristic density especially in the summer months, is one of the most important sea tourism centers of Turkey, which mostly serves domestic tourism. Tourism businesses and tourism activities may bring environmental issues or affect some regional environmental issues negatively. Therefore, in this study, how the representatives of environmental organizations, who are thought to be more sensitive to environmental issues, perceive these issues, and in line with the results obtained, various suggestions for the solutions of these issues are put forward.